Dipa backs new gymnastics star Aruna for CWG gold

New Delhi, Feb 26 (IANS) Elated at her training partner Aruna Budda Reddy capturing a bronze medal at the Gymnastics World Cup, Dipa Karmakar is optimistic that the Hyderabadi can bring home a gold medal from the upcoming Commonwealth Games in April in Gold Coast.

Aruna on Saturday created history by becoming the first Indian to win a medal at the Gymnastics World Cup.

With the medal coming prior to the CWG, expectations will be higher from Aruna, who trained with Dipa, who finished fourth in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

“I am very happy with her medal. It was a very good performance. I trained with her since 2011 and we were roommates between 2014 to 2017,” Dipa reminisced on Monday.

“She was very determined to do well and always kept her faith in her hard work and was very hungry for medals. She had gone abroad for training before this World Cup and it was a right moment for her to deliver a medal-winning performance at the World Cup and she did,” Dipa, who will not compete at the CWG as she is yet to fully recover from a knee surgery, added.

“I hope she can win gold at the CWG. There are others, also like Pranati Nayak who can do well in Gold Coast.”

The 24-year-old from Agartala has recently started training after undergoing a right knee surgery. She underwent surgery in Mumbai after injuring herself during a national camp in the capital.

Therefore, after the high of Rio, Dipa could not compete anywhere due to an Anterior Crucial Ligament (ACL) injury in her right knee.

“I am a bit sorry as I will not be there at the CWG. I had won a bronze at the Glasgow Games (2014 CWG). I have started training. I am very happy with the way the recovery process took place. My target is to do well at the Asian Games. I don’t have any specific targets,” she said.